Otto Heidemann
Hauptmann Otto Heidemann was Leutnant Bruno Stachel's superior in the Luftstreitkräfte. The Blue Max (1966) Hauptmann Otto Heidemann is an aristocratic officer whose belief in chivalry and the laws and customs of warconflict with Stachel's disregard for them. After Stachel's first mission, after he returned he was more interested in the kill he made than of the loss of his fellow wing man. In Stachel's defense, he points out to his fellow pilots that in his time in the trenches there were so many dead, no one had time to grieve over a single person. Soon afterwards, Stachel and Willie attack an Allied two-man observation aircraft, Stachel incapacitates the rear gunner. Instead of downing the defenseless aircraft, he signals the pilot to fly to the German base. near the airfield, the wounded rear gunner revives and reaches for his machine-gun, unseen by the admiring observers on the ground. Stachel is forced to shoot the aircraft down. Afterwards, a disgusted Heidemann believes Stachel has committed a war crime just to gain a confirmed kill. Willie made a strong defence of the incident for Stachel, but Heidemann reports that the gunner had been blinded, and believes Stachel made the kill to show off the kill. Heidemann becomes strongly disapproving of Stachel's ruthless, ambitious win-at-all-costs nature, considering him an upstart. He was selected by Generaloberst von Klugermann to test fly Germany's new monoplane, but reported it had serious flaws due to weak wing struts. Von Klugermann used this information to kill Stachel by persuading him to fly the plane next, in order to prevent a board of inquiry which would disgrace the entire German officer corps as a result of Stachel claiming two of von Klugermann's nephew Willi's kills as his own. Heidemann had no part in the scheme, and was horrified when Stachel crashed and died, despite his dislike of the man. The Blue Max (1964) In the novel Heidemann's deep longing to be with his wife and her growing depression over his absence are more subtle in the movie than the book. In the novel, Heidemann does not accuse Stachel of treachery in the shooting down of the British aircraft over their airfield. He regards Stachel as the best pilot in the Jasta after himself, and has already planned to assign Stachel one of the new Fokker D.VIIs. In the novel, Heidemann recognizes the propaganda value of building Stachel up into a hero and uses this as a means to get himself reassigned to Berlin, to be near his wife. Heidemann also reveals that he had been secretly boosting Stachel's achievements as part of an experiment in publicity management. Stachel who tries out the new monoplane, finds the defect, and then allows Heidemann to fly the aircraft. Before Heidemann takes off, Stachel tries to stop him to save his life; however, Heidemann continues and dies. Awards *Pour le Mérite *Iron Cross 1st Class *Pilot's Badge (WW1) Notes * He is played by Karl Michael Vogler Gallery Otto Heidemann.png Otto Heidemann (1).png Otto Heidemann (2).png Heidemann The Bue Max.jpg Category:The Blue Max (1966) Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto Heidemann, Otto